New Delhi: As part of their mission to make Delhi free of child-labour by 2023, the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has now instructed local authorities to make sure to keep an eye on children who are seen skipping school often, citing it might be a strong indicator of a child in a vulnerable home who might be prone to be trafficked into child labour. One official said, "If the child has less than 50 per cent attendance then it needs to be checked whether he or she is safe or not."
The DCPCR has now decided to focus on the attendance of children in Delhi government and municipal corporation-run schools. Newly appointed chairperson of the child rights body here, Anurag Kundu told Millennium Post that they held meetings with senior officials from the Delhi Government and MCD officials regarding child labour. "I have asked them to check attendance after schools reopen in Delhi and also send the list of those children who are absent from several days so that we can reach out to them to check on their safety," he said.
According to Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017, "Where a child receiving education in a school remains absent consecutively for thirty days without intimation to the Principal or Head Master of the school, then, the Principal or Head Master shall report such absence to the concerned nodal officer referred to in clause (i) of sub-rule (1) of rule 17C for information."
According to one DCPCR official, given the pandemic, schools are closed but whenever they will be opened, the focus point will be on school registers. "Most of the children, who are coming from economically weak backgrounds, are enrolled in schools so details of these kids are already with the educational institution. We need to check the attendance which is the sharpest predictor for determining whether children are in an adverse situation," the official said.
He added, "We are working to eradicate child labour from the city by 2023. We are looking at all aspects." In Delhi, there are more than 1,000 Delhi Government schools and over 1,700 MCD schools.
Recently, the DCPCR rescued 25 children indulged in child labour from different parts of the city. During the pandemic, they conducted four operations to rescue child labourers. There is also a possibility that during the pandemic, most poor people have lost their jobs and have been forced to send their children to work. The child rights body is trying to reach out to such families to try and help them.
"The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has predicted that with COVID-19 pandemic, the world may witness an increase in child labour for the first time in 20 years, thus, there is a risk of reversing years of progress in this arena," the Commission had written in one of their press statements.
According to data accessed by Millennium Post (till June 27), around 64 male children up to 8 years of age went missing this year, among which 28 are yet to be traced; whereas 41 girls in the same age group went missing, of which 15 of them are still at large. "In the age group between 8 to 12 years, over 120 male and 52 female children went missing, among which 52 boys and 24 girls are yet to be traced," the data showed.